Persephone's Prison

Chapter 4

Persephone packs a bag; in it 3 raw steaks, a bouquet of white flower Calla Lily, and one Obol of many she still keeps with her all these years. She grabs a big coat to wrap herself in before sitting on the couch to put on Hermes' shoes. She was nervous, to say the least, this was the most important part of her plan, if she didn't get this the whole plan was pointless and everything she had done up to this point, drugging her brother, stealing his shoes, exposing herself to her family; would be for nothing if this falls through. She tries not to worry too much though; one could never underestimate a woman's wrath.

She straps the shoes to her feet, and tightly grabs her bag before taking a deep breath and picturing her destination. She imagines the cold damp air, she envisions the darkness, and she feels despair and hopelessness until she feels the familiar sensation of flying. She doesn't open her eyes this time not exactly ready to see yet. She feels her feet hit gravel and knows she's there.

"Queen, you've returned to your kingdom," Charon the ferryman greets, and Persephone finally opens her eyes.

Charon looks old, always has, his pasty skin shows wrinkles and, he wears a red robe, he has no hair except his long grey beard, he hunches over all the time and uses his boat paddle as a cane of sorts, how he keeps balance in the boat has always been a mystery.

"Charon," Persephone smiles feeling around her purse as she looks around the underworld.

They stand in front of the river of Styx as her stomach knots in fear. It's been a long time since she's been there; she has a complicated relationship with this place. It's her home and her prison. She ruled with an iron fist, but she was a leader with no real power, if she had the power to rule, she should have had the power to leave when she wanted, right? She feels the coin on her fingertips, pulls the Obol out, and hands it over.

"You wanna give your queen a lift?" She smirks, he grabs her hand and helps her step onto the boat, Charon was quite strong for an old man, make no mistake.

She sits and he turns away from her before beginning to paddle. She starts to hear the familiar cries of the spirits. She looks around and sees a few ghosts walking along shore begging for help, food, and mercy. Home sweet home, she thinks bitterly before looking down at the water. She sees the transparent bodies flooding just below the surface looking up at her with grave faces and sighs. They look at her and see freedom, but she looks at them and sees fellow hostages. They stop at the entrance to her old home and Persephone stares a moment before standing.

"Why are you here? I have not seen you since the fall, even Hades stops by once in a while but not you, why now?" Charon questions through narrow eyes.

"Tying up some loose ends, righting some wrongs, getting closure. I've been hiding for too long Charon, I'm tired and want to come home." Charon was too smart to deceive so Persephone told him the truth.

He nods in satisfaction then grabs her hand and helps her off of the boat. She walks to the large black doors to the underworld mansion and opens them before entering. Once there she heads straight down the hall to an area of the house she was never allowed around. The walls are a deep crimson, and the walls are adorned with paintings of various kinds, portraits of Hades and Persephone throughout different eras as well as various family members. She doesn't bother looking around, she can reminisce later, that she was here for a specific mission. She reaches the end finally and finds a door. Down the stairs leads to a dark grey dungeon. It splits into two directions and even though she has never been here she knows exactly where she's heading. Hades made sure to show her every detail of the castle and if he couldn't for some reason, he gave her descriptions and a map when they first married in case, she would ever need to come down here. It was for her safety he explained even though he then told her it was best for her safety never to enter here. Everything about her life before was a contradiction and they wonder why she hated it.